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New security features in Windows 10

Fresh Start

Article from ADMIN 31/2016

By Marc Grote

With each version of Windows, Microsoft has expanded the built-in security functions. Windows 10 includes a number of new and interesting security features.

Microsoft has responded to the changes in IT threat management with a number of new Windows 10 security functions [1]. Read on for a summary of some important new security features in Windows 10.

Updates

The vast majority of security advisories come with one common warning: Update your system! System updates are a necessity on today's networks, and a number of extensions to the update process [2] are waiting for you in Windows 10. These extensions include distribution rings, which you can use to determine the order in which devices and servers are patched. It is possible, for example, to patch only unimportant computers or test computers in an initial wave of updates to first test the effects of the update on your production environment.

Distribution rings make it possible to patch systems based on both importance and membership. For example, you can update a domain controller first and then the Exchange Server that requires the domain controller's Active Directory services to operate correctly. Windows Update for Business makes it possible to define maintenance windows in which computers are supplied with updates. Using these tools, you can meet any requirements your company might have and just install updates at a convenient time when the disruptions associated with installing updates will have little or no effect.

A tool called BranchCache lets you copy Windows updates to computers in branch offices and remote sites with low bandwidth for local distribution. This technique removes the need to run a Windows Update distribution solution such as Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) at all locations. Storing updates once only at branch offices also saves network bandwidth.